Former Elmira Doctor Faces Charges from the State

Friday, January 4th 2019, 7:47 PM EST by Brandon Menard

ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) -- The New York State Office of Professional and Medical Conduct (OPMC) has filed several charges former Arnot Ogden Doctor Denny Pacheco, including gross negligence, incompetence, fraud, and failure to keep records.

Thomas Davis, a lawyer out of Wappingers Falls, represents the family of a 50-year-old man who is listed in the charges. The man saw Dr. Pacheco at Vassar Brothers Hospital in Poughkeepsie with an impending heart attack in June 2014. Court documents allege Pacheco discharged him, the man got up to leave when he had a heart attack and died.

"It's troubling in the sense that almost all of these instances involve someone being discharged from an emergency room who shouldn't be," said attorney Thomas Davis.

Two of the five people listed in the court documents involve Arnot Ogden patients. One was a 25-year-old man who had meningitis and was misdiagnosed. The other being a 61-year-old woman who was involved in a car accident and prematurely discharged without adequate treatment.

The two remaining patients mentioned in the case include a 7-month-old female who had respiratory problems and a 22-year-old female who failed two evaluations.

"What's alarming about it is he's only been a doctor since 2010," said Davis. "This is a lot of incidents in a short period of time. Well it's a lot of incidents for any doctor, but in such a short period of time it's particularly alarming."

Arnot Ogden issued a statement to WENY News, saying:

"Prior to receiving the copy of the Office of Professional Medical Conduct document provided by WENY, Arnot Health responded to a request for information from OPMC, but we were not made aware of any allegations related to Dr. Pacheco at that time. As of today, Arnot Health still has not been notified by the NYS Department of Health of any allegations. The OPMC document clearly states that these are only allegations and are not a determination of any findings. Such allegations are subject to appeal by the physician through an administrative hearing process. Dr. Pacheco has since completed his interim assignment at Arnot Health. Nonetheless, we will be following up in accordance with our standard procedures to determine if there has been a deviation from any credentialing policies or standards of care and will take whatever further action is warranted by the facts."

The investigation into these allegations regarding Doctor Pacheco is currently under review by the state. If you feel you've been mistreated, Davis recommends the following steps:

"One is they should probably consult with a lawyer," said Davis. "Two is they may want to contact the office of medical professional conduct and tell them if they think the doctor did something inappropriate in their care."

To read the allegations against Pacheco, click here. Stick with WENY News as we continue to follow this case.